Green “Under-Communication:” A Systematic Literature Review on Greenhushing

Larissa Pauferro Coimbra  Dias; Francine Zanin Bagatini; Marcelo Gattermann Perin

doi:10.5585/2025.26718

Autores

Larissa Pauferro Coimbra Dias Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9736-4027
Francine Zanin Bagatini Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8759-0960
Marcelo Gattermann Perin Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9008-6802

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.26718

Palavras-chave:

Greenblushing, Greenhushing, Silent Firms, Comunicação em Sustentabilidade, Revisão Sistemática

Resumo

Purpose: Our paper explores how “not communicating” or “under communicating” is addressed in academic literature and the resulting impact on sustainability marketing and communication.

Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted a systematic literature review with 21 documents, exploring the effects of under-communication on sustainability marketing and consumer behavior considering the terminology of “greenblushing,” “silent green,” and “silent sustainability” firms. We search documents published until December 2023 on Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, and Google Scholar.

Findings: The studies follow three main discussions: the categorization regarding companies’ sustainability communication versus commitment, the effects of greenhushing as a message style, and why companies choose not to disclose their sustainability efforts.

Theoretical/methodological contributions: This study proposes a future research agenda and encourages thoughtful consideration of the practical and theoretical aspects of understanding the “why,” “how,” and “when” companies should not communicate.

Relevance and originality: Considering that communication is the connection between the company and consumers, not communicating can be considered counterintuitive. Recognized as the opposite of greenwashing, greenhushing has been gaining space in academic discussions.

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Biografia do Autor

Larissa Pauferro Coimbra Dias , Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo

Mestranda na Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV EAESP) na linha de pesquisa de Marketing.

Francine Zanin Bagatini, Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo

Doutoranda em Administração de Empresas na FGV EAESP

Marcelo Gattermann Perin, Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo

Doutorado em Administração pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

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